


Belle

by LucidaCentury (Sephora909)



Series: Rumbelle hymns [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Song fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3849244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephora909/pseuds/LucidaCentury
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rory Gold has been waiting for a long time for someone like his beautiful Belle, only to have her taken from him. As he waits for her to come back, he retells their story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Belle

**Author's Note:**

> This song fic oneshot is based on the song _Belle_ from the movie Belle et Sébastien and interpreted by Zaz ([click here to listen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-iWs9_kR4I), the song is in French but you can activate subtitles to have an English translation). While I didn’t see the movie, my mom knew this song and she sang it when she saw my new Belle doll. As soon as she did, I went to listen to the whole song and I liked it so much I had to write about it. I hope I did it justice because I really really love it.
> 
>  
> 
> [Like and reblog on Tumblr](http://lucidacentury.tumblr.com/post/117762989161/belle)

It was a day like any other one for Rory Gold. He opened his antique shop late in the morning, then waited behind the counter for the few customers who dared to come in. Most of the time, his job was boring: it consisted only in keeping the ledger up to date and cleaning the items on display in the shop. The people who came in, either to buy or to sell, provided some distraction. Eventually, even scaring them became part of his routine. The true highlight of his days, though, was that moment after lunch, when, in the back of his shop, he put his cane down and allowed himself to dream while he stared at this simple golden ring encrusted with a blue stone. A sapphire that wasn't near as blue as her eyes. Her beautiful eyes… He could remember the first time he saw them as if it had been yesterday instead of sixteen years ago.

At thirty-six, Rory was already a mean reclusive man. He worked in the same shop everyone in Storybrooke hated and avoided like the plague, just like they did him. That situation suited him. Though he didn't have his threatening cane yet, everyone feared him. He wouldn't have wanted his life to be any different. Until he saw her.

Out of the window, he saw a teenage girl looking inside his shop. Though she wasn't tall, the short deep blue dress made it clear she was no longer a child. She was a young woman in bloom. Long chestnut strands of hair cascaded around her face. The soft spring sun made them glow like a halo. Her delicate painted red lips parted wide in wonder at whatever was displayed in front of the window. Her eyes, wide open, were the color of the sky. A boundless azure. An invitation to freedom. Those captivating eyes looked up and met his. Her lips turned into the most magnificent smile. She was smiling at him. That was the exact moment he knew deep in his shallow heart, that he would spend the rest of his life with her. With a timid hand, she waved at him. He was too stunned to do anything but wave weakly back at her. Then she turned her head, no doubt in answer to someone who called her. One last smile at him, and she was gone.

It didn't take long for her to come back. Or had he daydreamed so much about this angel that he didn't notice time flying by? The sun was setting slowly outside, but the goddess who stepped inside his shop made him feel like this was the dawn of something new. With her mesmerizing smile still on her lips, she walked to him a bit shyly, looking down and trying to hide a blush.

“Hi. Do you remember me? I passed in front of your shop this morning.”

Her eyes captured his. The only thing he could think about was how her voice matched her appearance. Soft, inquisitive, and full of confidence. It took him some time to remember her question and think of an answer.

“Yes,” he answered with a strained voice. He cleared his throat before adding, “But I don't have the pleasure of knowing you yet.”

Her blush darkened even more, giving him enough strength to smile back at her.

“I'm Belle French. I just moved in with my father this morning.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss French. I'm Mr. Gold.”

“No first name?”

“If you talk to the people of this town about me, you will soon find out that this is classified information.”

Her clear laugh sounded like music to his ears, and hymn to joy he would never hear enough in his life.

They had the most delightful and innocent chat that night. She was so easy to talk with, on any subject, that he felt as if he had known her forever. Where had she been, the rest of his life? For a moment, he forgot everything about those years living in misery without her. His reputation, his loneliness, his hatred for each any everyone. Everything. What were thirty-six years of loneliness and hard work compared to fifteen minutes spent with Belle?

From that day on, his thoughts and dreams were filled with her. How could they not? Every evening, right before he closed the shop, Belle came to meet him. At the beginning, she showed an interest in his ancient books. He let her read him some passages. Her voice soothed him like nothing ever had before. A lonely orphan like him hadn't known until then what it felt like to lulled by a voice. Then she just came to talk, to tell him about her day and ask about his, to get to know him better.

Belle also took the dangerous habit of waving goodbye at him when she crossed the street, right when she stood in the middle of the road. No one drove in this street at this hour, but he could not resist leaving his shop to tell her to be careful. He was sure she secretly enjoyed seeing him worry about her, for she never stopped waving until he came to scold her.

For weeks, Gold feared she would discover what the whole town knew. That he wasn't a lovely man. That he would hurt her some day. That she was an angel who should not spend so much time with an old devil like him. When he finally gathered the courage to voice his fears, she kissed him. On the lips. It was just a fleeting brush of her lips against his. But a kiss from Belle was a blessing all the same.

After that day, they continued to meet as if it didn't happen. It lasted for six weeks, then seven, then he was too happy to keep counting. He never got the courage to tell her he loved her. But he could see it in her eyes, that she knew. He didn't mind that she kept quiet about her feelings. The sole fact of spending time with her was enough to make him happy for a lifetime.

On the other hand, her father did not appreciate that his daughter met a man more than twice her age. But Moe could not make choices for her. She liked to say that no one but her decided her fate. The first time her father came to the shop to shout at Gold to leave his daughter alone, Belle was there too. She called him her friend. While it could have happened in happier circumstances, hearing this word from her mouth was worth the headache of being yelled at. They shared a knowing look, full of the love they had for each other, that made Moe scream louder. It that moment, neither Belle nor Gold heard him.

It wasn't until months later that Belle dared to ask him out. She was seventeen. He was thirty-seven. Even she looked like she knew he would not agree. Instead, he surprised her by making her a promise as he lost himself in her eyes.

“On the day of your eighteenth birthday, I will do anything you ask of me.”

“Even marry me?”

Belle's smile was just pretense. By now, he knew her enough to see her insecurity past her faked nonchalance. He cradled her ethereal face between his rough hands. For once, it was his gaze that kept her enthralled.

“I will.”

He sealed his promise with a chaste kiss on her lips. He did not linger any longer than she had, but it was enough, for both of them.

They had been seeing each other for two years when it happened. As usual, Belle was waving at him from the road. Gold sighed and went out of his shop. He opened his mouth to say his line. A screeching sound of tires froze them both. The car was still far enough for Belle to step aside, but it was not driving in a straight line. It came closer fast. He managed to tear his eyes from the deadly machine, only to find Belle still in the middle of the road.

“Belle!”

Shouting at her did nothing. Fear paralyzed her. She could do nothing but stare at her imminent death driving to her. Gold forgot he was a coward. He ran to Belle and pushed her out of the road. In his haste to save his only love, he fell flat on the ground. The mad driver slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. His right ankle was crushed under a wheel. For a couple of seconds, Gold felt nothing. The third second, an intense pain shot through him. He screamed louder than his own ears could stand. Tears he barely felt ran down his cheeks. His mind became hazy. There was nothing but this burning agony. Then there was Belle.

“Gold! Gold! Answer me!”

Belle was alright. Belle was safe. She was holding his hand. But she still didn't know his first name.

“It's Rory.”

His voice sounded strange, but at least he told her. At least she knew. Everything was fine. His mind went blank.

He woke up God knows how long later in a hospital. He shouted for someone to come and tell him what happened. The doctor told him useless things like his ankle and foot were completely destroyed, and that he will forever have to use a cane to walk. Gold asked about Belle. At first, the doctor refused to answer him. Gold shouted and threatened until the man in the white coat told him she was fine. As fine as she could be when separated from him. Her father was sending her back to her aunt in Australia. She would leave in a few hours. He wouldn't get tell her he loved her. He wouldn't get a chance to say goodbye. But they will end up together. Of that, he was sure. That night, on his lonely hospital bed, he vowed to wait for his beautiful Belle. For as long as it would take. She always came back to him. This time would be no different.

Sixteen years later, he was still waiting for her. He didn't get to make good on his promise to propose to her on the day of her eighteenth birthday. He still bought her a ring. He had not lost hope. She was never far from his thoughts. Every night, she still came to him in his dreams. They talked and hugged just as they had always done in his shop.

His daydream was interrupted by the chime of the bell as the door of the shop opened. He was quite sure he had turned the sign to “Closed”. Who could be stupid enough to enter his lair outside of business hours?

“I'm sorry, dearie, but…”

The rest of his sentence got stuck in his dry throat. She was there. Standing in the middle of his shop. The beautiful angel he's been waiting for so long. Her smile was the same as this spring day when they met. It held so many promises of happiness. Her eyes were watery with emotion, making them only more precious to him. He had found his azure sky again.

“Belle.”

“Rory.”

Though this was the first time he heard his name from her lips, it sounded just like he always imagined it. Perfect.

They did not waste any more time apart from each other. They ran the small distance that separated them, their bodies violently embracing each other in a vital hug. The kiss that followed was just as fierce and no less full of the love they had been saving for all those years.

When their lips finally parted and she opened hers to speak, he put a finger on them. Belle frowned at this interruption and looked at him with a puzzled but amused expression.

“There is something I've been meaning to do for fifteen years.”

As hard as it had become, he went down on one knee, and reached inside his pocket. He hold the ring he had cherished for so long out to her. The joy lighting up her face warmed his old heart. She had not forgotten.

“Belle. I've loved you since the first time I saw you. You brought light into my life and chased away all the darkness. I survived all those years apart from you, because you never really left. You were always in my heart. But I still missed you. Your smile, your laugh, your arms around me. I don't want to be apart from you ever again. Wherever you go, I want to come with you. Do you want to go with me on this journey à deux?”

Raw emotion turned her mute for a moment, but her head answered before her voice could. She was nodding.


End file.
